COMPARISON OF ROPIVACAINE AND BUPIVACAINE IN ULTRASOUND-GUIDED TRANSVERSUS ABDOMINIS PLANE BLOCK FOR POSTOPERATIVE ANALGESIA IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING LAPAROSCOPIC SURGERY

Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) Block is a regional analgesic technique. It provides analgesia after abdominal surgery.The anterior abdominal wall is innervated by nerve afferents that course through the transverses abdominis neurovascular fascial plane. TAP block allows sensory blockade of abdominal wall skin and muscles when local anesthetic deposited above transversus abdominis muscle (TAM).

A Comparative Study between Ultrasound Guided Trans-muscular Quadratus Lumborum Block Versus Ultrasound Guided Transversus Abdominis Plane Block as postoperative analgesia in Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery

Background A variety of unwanted post-operative consequences, including patient suffering, respiratory distress complications, delirium, myocardial ischemia, prolonged hospital stay and an increased likelihood of chronic pain are due to poorly controlled acute pain after laparoscopic abdominal surgery. Aim of the Work is to compare the analgesic efficacy of ultrasound-guided TQL with TAP block during laparoscopic bariatric surgery and to improve the outcome of the patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery under general anesthesia who suffer from postoperative pain and also in the early postoperative period regarding pain relief, decreasing postoperative opioid requirements, provision of comfort, early mobilization and improved respiratory functions. Patients and Methods The study was conducted on 40 randomly chosen patients in Ain Shams University Hospitals after approval of the medical ethical committee. They were allocated in two groups of 20 patients each: Group TQL (n = 20): received combined general anesthesia with TQL block. Group TAP (n = 20): received combined general anesthesia with TAP block. Results TQL block has more analgesic efficacy than TAP block. The first call for rescue analgesia (Meperidine), total meperidine consumption and pain scores (visual analog score at rest and movement) indicated the superiority of the analgesic technique TQL block. Conclusion TQL with general anesthesia was more effective technique in providing analgesia after laparoscopic bariatric surgery without associated hemodynamic instability in comparison to TAP block with general anesthesia and also the first call for rescue analgesia (Meperidine), total meperidine consumption and pain scores (visual analog score at rest and movement) indicated the superiority of the analgesic technique TQL block.

Comparative Study between Opioid-Free General Anesthesia by Dexmedetomidine and Opioid-Based General Anesthesia in Rhinoplasty Surgeries

Background The use of opioid-free analgesic technique have the propensity to decrease and even avoid many of these side effects and lead to early oral intake, early ambulation, earlier hospital discharge, and lesser readmission rates to the hospital in the post-operative period. Aim of the Work to compare the effect of opioid-free using Dexmedetomidine and opioid-based using Fentanyl on hemodynamics (inducing deliberate hypotension and providing a better surgical field exposure), post-operative pain intensity and the incidence of side effects in patients scheduled for rhinoplasty surgeries. Patients and Methods This study included Fifty adult patients undergoing rhinoplasty surgery. Patients were randomly divided into two equal groups. Group D received Dexmedetomidine and Group F received Fentanyl. Patients are ASA physical status I, age group ranged from 18 to 45 years. Results The study revealed a statistically significant decrease mean of group D compared to group F according to intraoperative mean arterial blood pressure. statistically significant decrease mean of group D compared to group F according to intraoperative heart rate (beat/min). Conclusion We found that dexmedetomidine is better than fentanyl for patients who undergo rhinoplasty surgeries to achieve controlled hypotension, decrease dosages of postoperative analgesics, prolong the duration of postoperative analgesia and decrease postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Quadratus Lumborum Block is an Effective Postoperative Analgesic Technique in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Lower Abdominal Surgery: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Quadratus lumborum (QL) block has shown promising analgesic efficacy in the adult population in previous meta-analyses. However, the response of the pediatric group to pain stimulation is stronger than that in the adult population, and the management of pediatric pain is constrained by limited available analgesia agents. All data analyzed during this study are collected from published articles. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our systematic review was to evaluate whether QL block is also an effective postoperative analgesic technique, compared to other analgesic skills in pediatric patients undergoing lower abdominal surgery. STUDY DESIGN: A meta-analysis. METHODS: We identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Science Direct to compare QL block with other analgesic methods for relief of postoperative pain in pediatric patients undergoing lower abdominal surgeries under general anesthesia. The primary outcome was the rate of postoperative rescue analgesia; secondary outcomes include: pain scores at 30 minutes and 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively, patient satisfaction, and block related complications. RESULTS: A total of 7 studies with 346 patients were included. QL block showed a significant reduction in the rate of postoperative rescue analgesia in the first 24 hours (RR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.28 to 0.59; P < 0.001) compared to other analgesic techniques, without significant heterogeneity among the articles (I2 = 49%, P = 0.08). Compared with other analgesic methods, QL block significantly reduced the pain scores at 2 hours (Std.MD = -0.76; 95% CI = -1.16 to -0.35; P < 0.001) (I2 < 0.001%, P = 0.41), 4 hours (Std.MD = -0.34; 95% CI = -0.67 to -0.01; P = 0.04) (I2 < 0.001%, P = 0.53) and 12 hours postoperatively (Std.MD = -0.95; 95% CI = -1.44 to -0.47; P < 0.001) (I2 = 27%, P = 0.24). No significant differences were found between techniques at 30 minutes and 1, 6, or 24 hours postoperatively (P > 0.05). There was no statistically significant change in patient satisfaction (Std.MD = 0.49; 95% CI = -0.32 to 1.29; P = 0.24) or side effects (RD = -0.02; 95% CI = -0.06 to 0.02; P = 0.31) with QL block. LIMITATIONS: The major limitation of this meta-analysis is the relatively few RCTs and limited results included. Similarly, the differences in block approaches among the control groups (TAP, ESP, caudal block, opioid-based analgesia), drug types and concentrations, and multimodal analgesia programs led to considerable heterogeneity. Furthermore, some relevant outcomes were not investigated. CONCLUSION: Our systematic review and meta-analysis suggests QL block use for the pediatric population undergoing lower abdominal surgery, based on the current limited research evidence, as this method was an effective postoperative analgesic technique. KEY WORDS: Pediatric surgery, postoperative pain, quadratus lumborum block, side effects

Ultrasound Guided Thoracic Paravertebral Block as an Analgesic Technique for Tracheoesophageal Fistula repair : A Case Report

Ultrasound has now become an eye of anaesthesiologist and has encouraged for its pervasive use. Its considerable use in the perioperative period for various invasive purposes has added an extra caution to prevent unforeseen complications over blind blocks. The ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral block provides excellent perioperative analgesia following thoracic surgery. It can be given as a single shot or a continuous infusion technique placing a catheter. Here the local anesthetic agent is deposited in the paravertebral space from where the spinal nerve emerges which are devoid of coverings and are sensitive to local anesthetics. Even a single-shot block provides analgesia of 4-6 dermatomal levels. The use of local anesthetics using ultrasound not only adds safety measures to minimize procedural complications but also reduces the perioperative requirement of opioids. It also helps in the reduction of postoperative pulmonary complications and early extubation following thoracic surgery. We report a case series where single-shot ultrasound-guided unilateral paravertebral blocks were used as an analgesic technique for the repair of tracheoesophageal fistula in neonates. After delivering anesthesia and confirming the correct placement of the endotracheal tube the neonate was kept on the left lateral position to undergo right thoracotomy and repair of fistula. Scanning at T4 level with a linear probe was done to identify the transverse process, pleura, costotransverse ligament, intercostal muscle, and the paravertebral space where the local anesthetic agent was deposited under aseptic precautions. Tenting of pleura was the endpoint for the completion of the block. The extensive use of various regional anesthetic technique has significantly improved the postoperative outcome of the patients along with adequate perioperative pain management.